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Great Streets can potentially exist anywhere – downtowns, residential neighborhoods, employment centers and so forth. What are Great Streets? The key characteristics to look for include:

Great Streets are representative of their places. A Great Street reflects the neighborhood through which it passes and has a scale and design appropriate to the character of the abutting properties and land uses.
Great Streets allow people to walk comfortably and safely. The pedestrian environment on, along and near the street is well-designed and well-furnished. The relationship between the street and its adjacent buildings is organic, conducive to walking, and inviting to people.
Great Streets contribute to the economic vitality of the city. Great Streets facilitate the interaction of people and the promotion of commerce. They serve as destinations, not just transportation channels. They are good commercial addresses and provide location value to businesses that power the local economy.
Great Streets are functionally complete. Great Streets support balanced mobility with appropriate provision for safe and convenient travel by all of the ground transportation modes: transit, walking, bicycling, personal motor vehicles and freight movement.
Great Streets provide mobility. Great Streets strike an appropriate balance among the three elements of modern mobility: through travel, local circulation and access. The right balance varies with the function of the street and the character of its neighborhoods and abutting properties.
Great Streets facilitate placemaking. Great Streets incorporate within them places that are memorable and interesting. These may include plazas, pocket parks, attractive intersections and corners, or simply wide sidewalks fostering an active street life.
Great Streets are green. Great Streets provide an attractive and refreshing environment by working with natural systems. They incorporate environmentally sensitive design standards and green development techniques, including generous provision of street trees and other plantings and application of modern storm water management practices.

Read more: Why Great Streets?

Coming Soon!

The St. Louis Great Streets Initiative is a project of the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council.
Funding for this project was provided by the Federal Transit Administration.

East-West Gateway Council of Governments:

James M. Wild – Executive Director
East-West Gateway Staff

Phase Two Consultant Team:

CH2M HILL
Project Management, Demonstration Projects Lead
Contact: Tim Page

Charlier Associates, Inc.
Transportation Planning, Lead Web Developer
Contact: Vickie Jacobsen

Freedman, Tung & Bottomley
Symposium Planning, Urban Design
Contact: Ellen Greenberg

Vector Communications Corp.
Public Involvement
Contact: Jessica Perkins

Glossary Credits

For more information, contact:

Jerry Blair - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Paul Hubbman - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

East-West Gateway Council of Governments recently launched an initiative to expand the way communities think about streets. Local leaders and citizens are encouraged to think beyond the curb to see how transportation decisions affect the total built environment. Whether your community is at the early stages of assessing a street that needs improvement, or at the point where an adopted vision has yet to materialize as a design, planning assistance is available. St. Louis area communities are encouraged to share their needs, ideas or plans for possible projects.

This initiative provides opportunity for communities to receive planning assistance in designing great streets. After submitting concepts, several communities will receive a half-day, on-site workshop. Following this initial visit, communities may then compete for demonstration projects to be awarded by East-West Gateway to receive customized planning assistance.

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